From “Health Is the New Wealth,” to the “Benefits Of Ecotherapy,” here is today’s harvest from the greenest and healthiest of the web:

Health Is the New Wealth

These days we all seem to be trying to be healthier. We strive to eat healthy, exercise more, and balance our lifestyle between career/work, family and independent time. This idea is everywhere in our pop culture, and Americans alone spend upwards of $40 billion on this idea every year.

There is now a disturbing breed of thinspiration that pressures women and girls to pursue a “thigh gap,” which is defined as the space between one's thighs. Everywhere online, users are posting aspirational pictures of thigh gaps, used as inspiration for weight loss and dieting. “I want the thigh gap. Right now, I could start a fire b/t my thighs,” one user laments on Pinterest. “No goal was ever achieved without thigh gap.”

There is much discussion about how technology can solve the health care problems our nation faces. One proposed solution is application of “big data,” (sets of data that are too varying and complex to process with commonly used software tools). Another high-tech solution comes by way of the algorithmic care that’s already available in mobile technology. Think of these two solutions as Watson and Siri. Big and strong vs. small and nimble. David and Goliath.

Benefits Of Ecotherapy: Being In Nature Fights Depression, Improves Mental Health And Well-Being

"Green therapy," also known as ecotherapy, is gaining the attention of researchers, nature enthusiasts, and people in search of alleviating symptoms of depression. Being in nature is has long been associated with being mindful and meditative, but only recently has the scientific community researched the mental health benefits of outdoor immersion.

From “Dr. Oz Defends GMO Foods ,” to “10 Reasons to Give up Diet Soda,” here is today’s harvest from the greenest and healthiest of the web:

Dr. Oz Defends GMO Foods

It makes you wonder if Dr. Oz even wrote this piece, as NaturalNews’ Mike Adams points out in his piece on the subject. Dr. Oz’s article even comes just after the largest healthcare group in the United States declared that everyone should avoid tumor-linked GMOs to avoid the serious health consequences that go along with their consumption.

“I just want to send a message to the parents of kids that are really overweight… I think it’s just really irresponsible of parents to send them out looking for free candy just ’cause all the other kids are doing it,” says the author in a Y-94 morning radio interview.

As the debate over releasing clinical trial data rages on, yet another study emerges indicating that nearly one-third of trials are not reported for five years after completion on the US government repository – known as ClinicalTrials.gov – as required with the passage of the FDA Amendments Act in 2007.

Diet soda is calorie-free, but it won't necessarily help you lose weight. Researchers from the University of Texas found that over the course of about a decade, diet soda drinkers had a 70 percent greater increase in waist circumference compared with non-drinkers. And get this: participants who slurped down two or more sodas a day experienced a 500 percent greater increase.

From “Fish Is the Dish!” to “Cinnamon for Diabetes,” here is today’s harvest from the greenest and healthiest of the web:

Fish Is the Dish! Seafood campaign goes from strength to strength

At The Aquaculturists we keep a close eye on groups aiming to boost seafood's profile among the general public. Fish is the Dish, an online campaign showcasing to consumers the benefits of eating seafood, is celebrating its second anniversary but aims to expand further still.

“The ideal is to move towards healthier fats. We get more of our fats and oils in food [compared to drinks] and it’s critical and very important in terms of the baking industry,” she told attendees at an educational session at IBIE 2013 on trans fats.

Every year millions of people try to get in shape, and the majority of them want to know how to lose belly fat. For the most part, weight loss is correlated with a concurrent drop in abdominal fat mass, but there are certain things you can do in particular that have a higher propensity to “dislodge” that stubborn visceral and subcutaneous belly fat.

The use of cinnamon to help treat diabetes remains controversial. We know that cinnamon is so good at controlling one’s blood sugar that you can cheat on a diabetes test by consuming two teaspoons of cinnamon the night before your glucose tolerance test.

Six months of fish oil reverses liver disease in children with intestinal failure

A clinical trial conducted at the Children's Discovery and Innovation Institute at Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA has found that, compared with soybean oil, a limited duration (24 weeks) of fish oil is safe and effective in reversing liver disease in children with intestinal failure who require intravenous nutrition.

Our food environments have changed – and diets have changed along with it. We have lost the connection with food and where it comes from. As the world has become more globalised, so too has our food system. It has led to the infiltration ultra-processed food throughout our food supply.

Early last year, Alaska’s wild salmon fishing industry decided to end its partnership with the seafood world’s most prominent sustainability certification group in favor of its own labeling efforts. But the move quickly set drew a reaction from customers, as WalMart and others said they would no longer buy Alaskan salmon without the independent check.

Now, calorie counting is an often tedious job involving the manual entry of data or pictures into smartphone apps. So, if the AIRO works the way it says it does, it could be a huge boon for health enthusiasts and dieters.

an exercise help boost your cognitive faculties? Researchers increasingly say the answer is a resounding yes. Recent research reveals that exercise promotes a process now known as neurogenesis, i.e. your brain’s ability to adapt and grow new brain cells, regardless of your age.

Saturated fats, such as butter, meat fats, coconut oil and palm oil, tend to be solid at room temperature. According to conventional nutritional dogma, these traditional fats are to blame for most of our modern diseases—heart disease, cancer, obesity, diabetes, malfunction of cell membranes, and even nervous disorders like multiple sclerosis.

However, many scientific studies indicate that it is processed liquid vegetable oil, which is laden with free radicals formed during processing, and artificially hardened vegetable oil, called trans fats, that are the culprits in these modern conditions—not natural saturated fats.

A new proposed rule issued Friday aims to protect all animal foods from disease-causing bacteria, chemicals and other contaminants.

Under the rule, manufacturers will be required to develop procedures to prevent food borne illness. For the first time, manufacturing facilities would have to follow proposed good manufacturing practices to address issues like sanitation. They will also have to have plans in place to correct any problems.

You'd have to be living under a rock to miss the signs of our cultural obsession with bacon. There are bacon Band-Aids, bacon tattoos, bacon sundaes, bacon-infused cocktails and even babies wrapped in bacon costumes, just in time for Halloween.

But is all this devotion to fatty pig flesh merited? Does bacon truly make everything better, as some cookbooks have boldly declared?

From 4 Foods to Fight Depression, to How Gardens are Transforming American Schools, here is today’s harvest from the greenest and healthiest of the web:

4 Foods to Fight Depression

An estimated 1-in-10 Americans take antidepressants. That’s a shocking number of people relying on Big Pharma remedies for something that can be dealt with naturally. tudy after study has shown that by increasing physical activity, getting more sunshine, and changing your diet, you can alter your state of mind and beat depression without drugs.

Pure, unrefined salt is actually a necessary and helpful dietary component. Refined commercial table salt, used excessively in processed foods, is processed with toxic chemicals and stripped of its inherent nutritional value. It has very little nutritional value, though even using table salt often won’t lead to high blood pressure.

Standing On Weekdays Burns Calories Equivalent To Running 10 Marathons A Year

We’ve already talked a lot about how sitting all day is killing us, but what you might not know is just how good simply standing for a few hours a day can be. A new study found remarkable health benefits of standing versus sitting. Although this was just a small, simple study, it’s another indication that getting up out of your chair is good for you, particularly if you want to lose or maintain weight.

If you consider yourself a healthy eater, you’ve probably come to rely on a few nutritious standbys, like lean protein, steamed veggies and whole grains. But how many times a week can you have grilled chicken, steamed broccoli and brown rice for dinner before you’re banging you head against the wall?

The good news: There are plenty of ways to please your taste buds without adding a calorie bomb to your dish.

The German term kindergarten translates to “child-garden.” It was coined in the early 19th century by education pioneer Friedrich Froebel, who thought of children as figurative flowers to be tended and nurtured. He also educated children in actual gardens, and believed that a connection to nature would help them develop their powers of observation.

From 10 Instant Health Boosters, to Trust Through Food, , here is today’s harvest from the greenest and healthiest of the web:

10 Instant Health Boosters

Spooning up just two ounces of yogurt a day can help protect you from developing gum disease, say Japanese researchers. Why? They say the lactic acid in yogurt could be responsible for helping keep your mouth healthy by reducing germs that can lead to gum disease.

Teens underestimated the calories in fast-food meals by 34%; parents of school-age children by 23%; adults by 20%, says lead researcher Jason Block of Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute.

While anecdotal evidence suggests that the pH of water could be relevant to health, so far, there’s not a lot of firm data. But focusing on the pH level of our water might be somewhat beside the point. Because if alkaline water is helpful, that might be due to the minerals it contains rather than its pH level, per se.http://www.precisionnutrition.com/alkaline-water-legit-or-hoax

DIY Home Aquaponics Video Tutorial

We truly believe this video tutorial will help folks everywhere start to grow their own healthy, nutritious food in their own homes and start being more self-sufficient with their food supply.

Autumn leaves aren’t just beautiful, they also are a valuable resource for your garden. So before you start raking up your fall leaves and throwing them out, consider these gardening tips on how to use fall leaves in garden.

From Pineapple Enzyme Killing Cancer, Not You, to Growing with the Flow: A World of New Tomatoes, here is today’s harvest from the greenest and healthiest of the web:

Pineapple Enzyme Kills Cancer, Not You

Every once in a while a study pops up on the National Library of Medicine's bibliographic database known as MEDLINE that not only confirms the therapeutic relevance of natural substances in cancer treatment, but blows the conventional approach out of the water. Published in 2007 in the journal Planta Medica, researchers found that an enzyme extracted from pineapple stems known as bromelain was superior to the chemo-agent 5-fluorauracil in treating cancer in the animal model.

How Sweet: Chocolate Bars Can Now Be Wrapped in Paper Made with Cocoa Husk Waste

UK paper manufacturer James Cropper has developed another innovative recycling process that incorporates cocoa husk waste from chocolate production into unbleached cellulose fiber to produce a food-grade paper. The company says turning the otherwise wasted skins of many of the 3.5 million metric tons of cocoa beans produced each year into paper could be a significant breakthrough for the food and packaging industries.

According to the AP, the advent of “no-till” farming methods in Argentina with the use of genetically engineered (GE) crops and companion pesticides has caused significant health impacts in farming towns abutting GE fields.

Actor Tom Hanks was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes several years ago, and manages the condition through diet and exercise.

Medical experts say Hanks' extreme weight fluctuations over the years may have contributed to his type 2 diabetes diagnosis. The actor conceded his extreme weight changes over the years played a role, but said he was genetically predisposed to diabetes anyway.

It seems home gardeners want everything out of their home-grown tomato that their typical grocery tomato lacks – different colors, funky shapes and amazing taste, basically everything homegrown heirloom tomatoes are known for.

Last year, global fish consumption hit a record high of 17 kg (37 pounds) per person per year, even though global fish stocks have continued to decline. On average, people eat four times as much fish now than they did in 1950.

Authors

Welcome to our blog. It is written for you by the members of the Sugarlesse™ team, specifically Andy, June, or Steve. More importantly, it is also written by you - so don't be bashful with your comments!